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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

32 Colleges
$17,770 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$28,979 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree School for You

With 3,436 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies is the #11 most popular major in North Carolina.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 32 schools in North Carolina to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for parks and rec students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of North Carolina at Pembroke the best value school in North Carolina for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of Pembroke, UNC Pembroke is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

UNC Pembroke undergraduate students pay an average of $3,495 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Carolina at Pembroke Report

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of North Carolina at Wilmington helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in North Carolina. Located in the city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNCW are $7,238 a year.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Carolina University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. WCU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WCU are $4,367 per year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Western Carolina University

Out of the 32 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, North Carolina State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Raleigh.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NC State are $9,131 a year.

NC State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at North Carolina State University Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNC Chapel Hill are $9,028 a year.

UNC Chapel Hill did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

With a ranking of #6, University of North Carolina at Charlotte did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public school located in the city of Charlotte.

UNC Charlotte undergraduate students pay an average of $7,188 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UNC Charlotte also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Carolina at Charlotte Report

Appalachian State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Appalachian State are $7,410 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Appalachian State also is in the top 20% of our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking.

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University of North Carolina at Greensboro came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

UNC Greensboro undergraduate students pay an average of $7,468 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#9

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

East Carolina University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ECU are $7,297 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, ECU also did well on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at East Carolina University Report

#10

Winston - Salem State University

Winston-Salem, NC

Winston - Salem State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, WSSU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

WSSU undergraduate students pay an average of $6,247 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Winston - Salem State University Report

Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
West Virginia 1,238
South Carolina 1,339
Florida 2,340
Virginia 1,729
Arkansas 1,012
Mississippi 1,128
Louisiana 703
Alabama 959
Kentucky 1,141
Georgia 1,981
Tennessee 2,462

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 67,146
Recreation Administration 3,122
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 3,106
Outdoor Education 265
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 174

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 142,610
Public Administration & Social Service 98,583
Legal Professions 61,055
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 4,477

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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